WO2006064099A1

WO2006064099A1 - Material containing microcapsules, in particular phase-changing materials

Info

Publication number: WO2006064099A1
Application number: PCT/FR2005/002986
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fabien SALAÜN; Eric Devaux; Serge Bourbigot; Pascal Rumeau
Original assignee: Institut Francais Textile Habillement; Ensait
Priority date: 2004-12-14
Filing date: 2005-11-30
Publication date: 2006-06-22
Also published as: US20090291309A1; EP1838429A1; FR2879112A1; FR2879112B1

Abstract

The invention relates to mono or multinucleic microcapsules (1) which is provided with an aminoplast membrane (2) and whose core (3) comprises at least two organic and/or inorganic compounds. Methods for producing the inventive microcapsules are also disclosed.

Description

MICROCAPSULES COMPRISING MATERIALS INCLUDING A PHASE CHANGE

The present invention relates to the field of thermal insulation and relates more particularly to microcapsules comprising at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds.

Traditionally, thermoregulatory textile materials consist of composite materials in which entrapped air is the main insulating element. Initially developed for the implementation of refrigerants, solar energy storage systems and heat exchange sources, for heating or air conditioning, phase change materials are now also used in development of fibers, fabrics or thermoregulating foams for clothing. Indeed, phase change materials, being liquids that solidify at reasonably low temperatures, or solids that liquefy at higher temperatures, are suitable as thermoregulatory materials for most temperatures to which the human body is exposed.

Since these materials are occasionally in the liquid state, they can not easily be applied to a textile support without being contained in a capsule. To facilitate their impregnation or incorporation into or on the various supports, they should be as small as possible to facilitate their adhesion with the textile and also increase the specific contact surface, thereby improving thermoregulation. For these reasons, phase change materials applied to or embedded in textile substrates are generally microencapsulated by polymers. Microencapsulation also makes it possible to improve the heat transfer by increasing their specific contact surface, thus helping to compensate for the low thermal conductivity, but also to avoid the diffusion of the active principle, while controlling its volume variations, during the various requests. thermal conditions. In the case of a material with an organic phase change, microencapsulation makes it possible to reduce or even annihilate its reactivity with the external medium. The microencapsulation techniques vary according to the type of products used and the final application sought, nevertheless, they all start with an oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion depending on the solubility of the active ingredient in one or the other of the phases. In most cases, the polymer encapsulating the droplets is introduced as monomers simultaneously with the active ingredient.

Many microencapsulation processes report the formation of an aminoplast membrane encapsulating the active ingredient, and this for the various benefits that the use of aminoplast resins provides. The application of aminoplast resins as the polymer constituting the membranes of the microcapsules represents an interesting economic alternative compared to processes already practiced on a large scale such as phase separation and interfacial polymerization, this being essentially due to the availability and the low cost of the products. starting materials such as urea, melamine, dicyandiamide, formaldehyde, and a simple encapsulation technique.

The object of the present invention is to provide aminoplast membrane microcapsules, comprising phase-change-sensitive materials, having novel structures and improved thermal properties, as well as processes for preparing such microcapsules. According to a first aspect, the invention relates to mono or multinuclear microcapsules with aminoplast membrane comprising at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds.

In an alternative embodiment, the microcapsules of the invention are mononucleic, having a conventional structure of core / shell (heart / crown) whose membrane or aminoplast outer wall represents the crown, the latter enveloping the heart which typically comprises at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds.

Preferably, the mononucleic microcapsules comprise the mixture of at least two paraffins. According to one embodiment, said paraffins are even alkanes, for example alkanes selected from the group: hexadecane, octadecane and eicosane. In another variant embodiment, the microcapsules of the invention are multinucleate and comprise at least one organic compound surrounded by microspheres comprising at least one inorganic compound, said microspheres being coated with the aminoplast resin. According to one embodiment, said organic compound is a paraffin, for example hexadecane or eicosane. Said inorganic compound may be a phase-change compound, for example a salt hydrate, or a compound without phase change, for example a phosphate salt.

Advantageously, the microcapsules of the invention, comprising at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds, at least one of which has a phase change, have thermal windows that make it possible to cover wider temperature ranges than those corresponding to microcapsules enclosing a single material. phase change.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a synthesis method, said mononucleic microcapsules, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a) introducing into a mixer a base composition A comprising:

a mixture of at least two paraffins,

an aminoplast prepolymer, a surfactant, in an aqueous solution; b) operating the mixer with a stirring speed of between 9,000 and 14,000 rpm, at a temperature of about 40 ^° C. and a pH of about 4 for 10 to 20 minutes, so as to emulsify and homogenize said composition until a stable emulsion is obtained; c) increasing the temperature of the emulsion to about 55 ° C and adjusting the mixer speed to about 600 rpm for about 4 hours to obtain microcapsules. According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a process for the synthesis of multinucleate microcapsules, characterized in that it comprises:

a step of microencapsulation of the inorganic compound in a medium paraffinic; and

a microcapsule formation and aminoplast membrane synthesis step.

According to other aspects, the invention relates to the various compositions used in the microencapsulation processes mentioned. The invention will now be described in detail.

According to the first aspect, the invention relates to mono or multinuclear microcapsules with aminoplast membrane comprising at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds. In an alternative embodiment, the microcapsules 1 of the invention, shown schematically in Figure 1 attached, are mononucleic and have a conventional structure of the core / shell type (heart / crown) whose membrane or aminoplast outer wall 2 represents the crown, the latter enveloping the core 3 which typically comprises at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds.

Initially, the applicants have developed an original mixture of at least two organic phase change materials, said mixture also being formulated with a mineral filler, making it possible to obtain a thermoregulating system with a thermal window and an energy balance. improved.

Preferably, the organic phase change materials used are paraffins or n-alkanes, because of their thermal characteristics with enthalpies of phase change of the order of about 200 J / g. Of the existing n-alkanes, which may be suitable for textile thermoregulation, none have a sufficiently wide thermal window in the temperature range 19 to 30 ^° C. The odd n-alkanes appear to be of little interest in view of the existence of a solid / solid low energy transition and a lower solid / liquid phase change enthalpy than for the even n-alkanes, as well as their cost approximately four times higher than that of the even n-alkanes. The choice fell on binary mixtures of the three remaining alkanes: hexadecane (C16), octadecane (C18) and eicosane (C20), and more particularly, on the hexadecane / eicosane mixture because of their respective melting temperatures lying on either side of those required for an application especially textile. The enthalpic characterization of the hexadecane / eicosane mixture in different proportions was carried out with 3 mg samples and a temperature ramp of 0.5 ° C / min, making it possible to dissociate the peaks relative to the different transitions. The superposition of the endotherms, represented in the appended FIG. 2, shows that when one of the compounds is largely in the mixture, the phase transition thermal windows are narrow and tend towards those of the alkane fusion in greater proportion. . On the other hand, for mass fractions between 0.3 and 0.7, the endotherms are widened between 0 and 35 ° C., involving the appearance of new solid / solid transitions within the material during the temperature rise. . The mass fraction of paraffin introduced into the mononucleic microcapsules is preferably between 25 and 75%.

The measurement of the enthalpies, represented in the appended FIG. 3, shows that the latter vary between those of the pure substances and 190 J / g, except in the particular case of the hexadecane / eicosane mixture in proportion 30/70. Thus, the widening of the thermal window is accompanied by a decrease of about 20% in the total enthalpy of the phase changes.

This loss is related to the increase in the number of solid / solid transitions less energetic than solid / liquid transitions. The 50/50 mixture makes it possible to solicit the material over a larger thermal window observed from 3 to 32 ^° C. for an enthalpy of 190 J / g.

The applicants have demonstrated that the introduction into the C16 / C20 binary mixture of a soluble filler in one or the other of its components makes it possible to increase the energy balance up to values comparable to those of the body. pure, without modifying the thermal window. In one embodiment, the C16 / C20 binary mixture is supplemented with tetraethyl ortho-silicate. The results obtained, represented in the attached FIG. 4, show that the enthalpy increases up to about 4% (by mass) of tetraethyl-ortho-silicate, then it decreases until it reaches its base level at 20% of charge.

In a second step, the applicants have developed a method of microencapsulation of mixtures of at least two organic phase change components described above.

For this purpose and according to the second aspect, the invention relates to a method for synthesizing mononucleic microcapsules, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a) introducing into a mixer a base composition A comprising: - a mixture at least two paraffins,

an aminoplast prepolymer,

a surfactant in an aqueous solution; b) operating the mixer with a stirring speed of between 9,000 and 14,000 rpm, at a temperature of about 40 ^° C. and a pH of about 4 for 10 to 20 minutes, so as to emulsify and homogenize said composition until a stable emulsion is obtained; c) increasing the temperature of the emulsion to about 55 ° C and adjusting the mixer speed to about 600 rpm for about 4 hours to obtain microcapsules.

In a preferred embodiment, the encapsulation protocol is based on the direct emulsion of the paraffin mixture in an aqueous solution containing an aminoplast prepolymer (methoxymethylmelamines). The emulsion is made using a rotor / stator for about 15 minutes. The synthesis is continued by increasing the temperature of the solution at 55 ^° C. for 4 hours at 700 revolutions / min allowing the suspension of the particles. The microcapsules obtained are filtered, washed with methanol and then with demineralised water, and oven-dried at 35 ° C. overnight. In this part, the surfactant used to stabilize the emulsion is Tween® 80. The method for synthesizing mononucleic microcapsules will be better understood on reading the description which will be made with reference to the following nonlimiting examples of embodiments.

Example 1. Influence of Emulsion Conditions: pH, Temperature and Shear

Table 1 below illustrates the results of nine tests in which the particle size, morphology and the synthesis yield of ^{microcapsules'} mononucleic are investigated based on changes in pH, temperature and choice of the prepolymer.

Table 1 (*: 70% by weight in aqueous solution)

Adjusting the pH of the solution during emulsion allows for better stabilization of the emulsion through intramolecular interactions. During these syntheses, the emulsion took place at 40 ^° C. The lowering of the pH at this temperature conditions the formation of the primary membrane of the microcapsules at the same time as the mechanisms of deformation and rupture of the droplets under strong shear. Thus, it is observed in the accompanying FIGS. 5 and 6 that the particle size on the SEM and optical plates of the test 2 is thinner than that of the test 1 (FIG. 5: optical plates (X64) and SEM (X 3500 ) microcapsules of the synthesis test 1 and FIG. 6: optical plates (X64) and SEM (X3500) of the microcapsules of the synthesis test 2). Nonionic surfactants, and in particular Tween® 80, are sensitive to the rise in temperature. The formation of an emulsion which may be stable at 40 ⁰ C is not necessarily, or at least does not retain its size during the temperature rise. In this case, this rise is accompanied by mechanical agitation of the system using an anchor. The formed droplets are then subject to coalescence as the system freezes by the formation of the primary membrane.

The other factor likely to influence the particle size distribution is the shear stress applied to the phases. The fact of going from a speed of 9,500 rpm to 13,500 rpm during emulsion greatly modifies not only the average diameter but also the size distribution of the emulsion, hence those of the microcapsules. The appended FIG. 7 illustrates the test 3. The size distribution visualized on the SEM image shows a large dispersion of the sizes since the diameter varies substantially between 1 and 5 μm.

Example 2. Choice of the prepolymer

Different types of aminoplast resins have been formulated by modifying the formaldehyde / melamine (F / M) molar ratios.

The fact that the F / M ratio influences the kinetics of reaction results in the modification of the particle size of the synthesis and the morphology of the particles. Indeed, the higher the ratio, the more the formation of ether bridges is preferred, and the shorter the phase separation time. The granulometric analysis of the syntheses shows that the higher the ratio (tests 6 and 8), the larger the average diameter distribution, as illustrated in the attached FIG. Whereas for a low ratio (test 7) the distribution is centered around a mean value at 1.8 μm. Note also the evolution of the bimodal distribution between test 6 and test 8 with the decrease in number of particles of smaller average diameter in favor of the size distributions to 8 microns during the increase in the ratio. The difference in particle size is not directly related to the ratio, but a low ratio causes a greater surface activity on the part of the resin, its solubility in the aqueous medium is lower, which facilitates all the implementation. emulsion of the system. The morphology of the microcapsules is also modified by the ratio F / M. The weaker it is, the more the capsule walls appear smooth, whereas a high ratio causes the formation of a rougher surface, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 (SEM image (X 3500) of the microcapsules of the synthesis test 3) and 10 (SEM plate (X 10000) of the microcapsules of the synthesis test 7) appended.

The existence of paraffins at the heart of the microcapsules is easily detectable by DSC. It is observed that the efficiency of the process is also linked to the ratio F / M. The greater the latter, the better the encapsulation, and the higher the level of resin forming the membrane is important, which results in an increase in phase transition Penthalpy of the microcapsules. The lower the ratio, the more fragile and brittle they become. Thus, the choice of a high level of resin makes it possible to ensure the recovery of all the synthesized particles. The thermograms of the tests 1, 6 and 8 at 2 ° C / min are illustrated in the appended FIG.

Example 3. Influence of the amount of prepolymer

The amount of prepolymer introduced changes to a greater or lesser extent the viscosity of the aqueous phase. This change in viscosity is likely to reduce the size distribution of the emulsion and consequently that of the microcapsules, but this effect is limited by the increase in the thickness of the membrane. We are then in the presence of two competitive phenomena. Measurement of the viscosity of the aqueous phases in the tests 3, 4, 5, 6 shows that it increases with the increase in the amount of prepolymer introduced, as shown in Table 2. The measurements are carried out at 20 ° C. ⁰ C, at 20 rpm, with stirring device No. 1 using the Brookfield viscometer. These differences are sufficiently consistent to modify the fractionation of paraffin droplets and modify the final particle size of the microcapsules. The results of the calculation of the ratio of viscosities according to the literature, suggest the establishment of a monomodal size distribution during the paraffin emulsification step for the first two tests, and a bimodal trend for the other two.

Table 2

The morphology of the microcapsules is also affected by the level of prepolymer introduced. Thus, an increase leads to obtaining a granular surface and the development of particles similar to berries. The observations by scanning electron microscope (SEM) (Figure 12 appended:

SEM images (X 3500, X 7500) and appended FIG. 13: SEM (X 15000), microcapsules of the synthesis (5), suggest a formation mechanism closer to phase coacervation than that of the in situ, bound polymerization. decreasing the solubility of the prepolymer in the aqueous phase by the presence of an acidic pH and increasing the temperature, inducing the bridging formation between the triazine groups.

Thus, the mechanism of formation of the membrane takes place in three distinct stages:

- formation of fine aggregates or coacervates (premature particles) by condensation of the oligomers in an aqueous medium;

diffusion of the coacervates towards the paraffin droplets and coalescence of these particles; - consolidation of the membrane by bridging these particles.

Therefore, a microcapsule appears to be composed of aminoplast precursors that can be formed immediately without liquid-liquid separation of the aqueous phase at the interface of the droplets of the organic phase. The membrane of the mononuclear capsules has a thickness of between 120 and 700 nanometers. - 1 -

The subject of the invention is also a base composition A, implemented in the process for the synthesis of mononucleic microcapsules described above, characterized in that it comprises:

an intimate mixture of at least two paraffins, an aminoplast prepolymer,

a surfactant,

optionally a soluble filler in said mixture, in an aqueous solution, and in that the mixture ratio of the paraffins / aminoplast prepolymer is between 20 and 80% by weight.

According to one variant embodiment, the surfactant is a mixture (50/50 by volume) of Tween® 20 and Brij®35, at 4% by weight relative to the aqueous phase.

Preferably, the aminoplast prepolymer comprises a formalin / melamine molar ratio of greater than 4.

Still according to the first aspect, the invention relates to microcapsules having an original multinuclear structure (shown schematically in Figure 14 attached). A microcapsule 10 comprises at least one organic compound 20 surrounded by microspheres 30 comprising at least one inorganic compound 40 and a membrane 50. Said microspheres 30 are coated by the aminoplast outer membrane 60. The multinuclear wall 70 encapsulating at least one organic compound 20 is formed of the aminoplast membrane 60 and the microsphere ring 30.

In an alternative embodiment, said organic compound is a paraffin, for example hexadecane or eicosane, and said inorganic compound is a phase-change material, for example a salt hydrate.

In another alternative embodiment, said organic compound is a paraffin and said inorganic compound is a material without phase change, for example a phosphate salt. According to the third aspect, the invention relates to a process for the synthesis of the aforementioned multinucleate microcapsules, characterized in that it comprises:

a step of microencapsulation of the inorganic compound in a medium paraffinic; and a microcapsule formation and aminoplast membrane synthesis step.

The step of microencapsulation of the inorganic compound in a paraffinic medium comprises the following operations: i) introducing into a first mixer a composition B comprising two phases, an aqueous phase containing an inorganic compound and water and a continuous phase containing paraffin and a mixture of surfactants, the mixture of surfactants having a HLB (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance) of between 5 and 7, ii) operating the first mixer at a speed of about 8,500 rpm for 15 at room temperature, so as to emulsify the composition B until a stable emulsion E1 is obtained; iii) introducing into a second mixer a composition C comprising two phases: an aqueous phase containing an aqueous solution of PVA and a continuous phase containing paraffin; iv) operating the second mixer at room temperature at a speed of approximately 13,500 revolutions / min so as to emulsify the composition C until a stable emulsion E2 is obtained; v) mixing the emulsions E1 and E2 to obtain a microgel, vi) add to the microgel a crosslinking agent such as MDI pre-dispersed in paraffin, with vigorous stirring, at 50 ° C., until microencapsulation of the inorganic compound. The method according to the invention comprises an additional operation after the operation vi) of keeping the salt-containing microspheres in dispersion by mechanical stirring. The step of microencapsulation of the salt in a paraffinic medium of the multinucleate microcapsule synthesis process will be better understood at the reading of the description which will be made with reference to the following examples of non-limiting embodiments.

EXAMPLE 4 Emulsion Salt in Paraffin: Emulsion El In one embodiment, during the emulsion E1, the aqueous phase is composed of salt hydrate and water in the proportions 5: 1, and the continuous phase of paraffin either hexadecane or eicosane with the mixture of surfactants (5% by volume) selected so that the volume ratio of the phases is 1 to 4. The aqueous phase is dispersed in the organic phase using a homogenizer under strong shear.

The emulsion formation protocol E1 consists of dispersing 30 ml of a salt solution in 70 ml of hexadecane at 8500 rpm for 15 minutes. The type of emulsion and its granulometry are observed under an optical microscope on a drop taken. Stability is observed over a period of 24 hours at room temperature. The results of the observations are presented in Table 3 (classification: +++, excellent; ++, good; +, satisfactory; - insufficient, E: water; H: oil).

Table 3

The emulsion is produced at room temperature, the addition of a little water to the salt solution makes it possible to lower its melting temperature, allowing good dispersion of the particles, at a shear rate of 8500 rpm. min for 15 minutes, so as to obtain sub-micron particles. Example 5. PVA emulsion in hexadecane: E2 emulsion

The various studies carried out on the microencapsulation with a PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) membrane showed that the size of the particles was mainly influenced by the emulsifier, the concentration of PVA in the solution, but especially by the shearing during the emulsion. In fact, the particle size of the droplets is related to the physical parameters of the solution by the Weber equation.

Depending on the concentration of emulsifier in the solution, the interfacial energy is likely to vary widely. At low concentrations, it is stable, but when the concentration increases, it decreases logarithmically to reach a limit value at high concentrations. In the PVA / Hexadecane system, the concentrations of between 1 and 10% are sufficiently high to reach an interfacial energy value of the order of 0.6 mN / m. These measurements obtained by the Du Nouy ring method show that, whatever the concentration of PVA in the solution, the interfacial energy remains constant, thereby implying that the variation in size of the droplets of the emulsion is related to the shear forces and the viscosity of the continuous and dispersed phases. In fact, the viscoelastic strength of the dispersed phase is one of the forces that prevents fragmentation of the droplets. The viscosity of the solution is a direct measure of the viscoelastic force of the fluid. Increasing the viscosity of the dispersed phase requires greater shear forces to prevent coalescence of the particles. Thus, obtaining a fine and stable emulsion is obtained when the ratio of viscosities is close to 1, or for a PVA concentration of less than 10%. Table 4 illustrates the ratio of the dispersed phase / continuous phase viscosities. The viscosities of the different solutions were carried out at room temperature using a Brookfield viscometer at 20 rpm at 20 ^° C. WO 2006/064099 - 15 -

Table 4

This emulsion step is carried out at ambient temperature and at 13,500 rpm, making sure to obtain particles of average particle size comparable to the first solution.

Example 6. Creating the microgel

Obtaining a microgel during the mixing of emulsions E1 and E2 is related to the modification of the PVA network in water. The stability of the polymer is ensured by the existence of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The presence of salt in high concentration will modify the hydration of the PVA chains, until precipitation of these. Thus, the introduction of large quantities of ions into the medium and the existence of strong intermolecular bonds are responsible for the destruction of the PVA / water network by the rupture of the hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of the polymer chains. In addition, for microspheres comprising inorganic compounds without phase change, for example phosphate salts, the introduction of the salt is also likely to cause the formation of hydrogen bonds, in small quantities, between the phosphate and the hydroxyl groups PVA, allowing in a first time to stabilize the network in gel form. The coacervation of the polymer in the solution then results directly from the modification of the polymer-polymer, polymer-solvent and polymer-ion interactions.

Example 7. Cross-linking of the microgel by the MDI.

The use of these microparticles in gel form tends to destabilize the solution during final encapsulation by the aminoplast membrane. Then, to avoid any phenomenon of coalescence and aggregation, the chemical crosslinking of the gel was chosen to obtain solid particles. Generally the PVA is easily crosslinkable in an aqueous medium by the introduction of an aldehyde; being in an organic medium, the possibility of establishing polyurethane bonds by the action of MDI (4,4'-diisocyanate-o-diphenylmethane) on PVA was studied.

The MDI, previously dispersed in a little paraffin, is added dropwise using a burette, with vigorous stirring at 50 ^° C.

At the end of this step, the salt microspheres are kept in dispersion in paraffin by mechanical stirring.

The step of forming microcapsules and an aminoplast membrane of the process for synthesizing multinuclear microcapsules comprises the following operations: vii) introducing into a mixer a composition D comprising an aqueous phase containing an aqueous solution of aminoplast prepolymer and a surfactant, for example Tween® 20, and a continuous phase comprising the microspheres of inorganic compound in dispersion; viii) operate the mixer at room temperature at a speed of about 10,500 rpm for about 15 minutes until a stable emulsion E3 is obtained; ix) increase the temperature of the emulsion E3 to about 55 ° C and adjust the mixer speed to about 400 rpm for about 4 hours to obtain microcapsules.

The method also comprises steps of filtering, washing and drying the microcapsules obtained in step ix.

Characterization of multinucleate microcapsules Morphology and size

The observations at the SEM (attached figure representing a SEM image (X

5000) microcapsules show the presence of a bimodal size distribution, the first of a mean diameter of about one micrometer and the second of 5 microns. The difference in particle size is probably related to the presence or absence of salt microspheres in the microcapsules. Indeed, when . _1? _

inverse emulsion, we observed the formation of fine paraffin droplets, very stable thermodynamically, and obtaining larger droplets. The microcapsules have a diameter of between 1 and 10 microns. The particles obtained do not seem perfectly spherical and their walls are granular. In addition, the optical micrograph obtained (FIG. 16 appended showing an optical micrograph (X 64) of the microcapsules) suggests the presence of small particles inside the microcapsules. ,

Structure of the multinucleic microcapsules The multinucleic microcapsules comprise at least one organic compound surrounded by microspheres comprising at least one inorganic compound, said microspheres being bonded together by the aminoplast resin. The dispersion of the microcapsules in a cyclohexane solution allowed the selection of large particles, which under the effect of mechanical pressure, opened. The SEM observations of these particles (appended FIG. 17 illustrating two SEM images (X 5000 and X 6000) of the microcapsules after rupture of the membrane) actually show the production of microcapsules coated with a ring of microspheres. Nevertheless, it appears that the microspheres are bonded together by the aminoplast resin 60 thus forming a paraffin encapsulating ring (wall) 70 (references are given with reference to FIG. 14). We find this granular appearance, but also the presence of small spheres inside the particles. These microcapsules with a mean diameter of 5 microns contain the microspheres with an average diameter of 1 micron. In another embodiment, the inorganic compound 40 contained within the PVA / MDI membrane microspheres 50 surrounding the organic compound 20 is comprised of phosphate salts (Figure 14). The SEM observations of these particles (FIG. 23 appended illustrating a SEM (X4000)) and the elemental EDX analysis shown in Table 5 below show that the microspheres thus obtained have a particle size distribution and a mean diameter distribution comparable to those corresponding to the microspheres containing a salt hydrate (illustrated in Figure 15). Element Wt% At% K-ratio ZAF

C K 60.25 70.33 0.2059 1, 0168 0.336 1, 0002

O, K, 24.19, 21, 0.0457, 9999, 0.189, 0002.

Na K 9.07 5.53 0.0407 0.9361 0.479 1, 0006

P K 6.49 2.94 0.0536.0.9203 0.8987 1

Total 100 100

Table 5 Thermal behavior

The thermal behavior of the microcapsules was evaluated by DSC analysis at different temperature ramps (0.5 - 2 - 5 - 10 and 20 ° C / min) under nitrogen flow. The thermograms shown in Figures 18 and 19 attached to highlight two distinct phenomena, one related to the phase change of microencapsulated paraffins and the other more particular attributed to the structure of the membrane of the particles. Firstly, the DSC analyzes of these microcapsules reveal a phase change enthalpy of between 170 and 180 J / g, the corresponding melting and crystallization temperatures of 16 ^° C. and 15 ° C. are relative to the presence of hexadecane ( Figure 18). Indeed, taking into account only the measurements made from the characteristic temperatures of the paraffin, the enthalpies are of the order of 150 to 160 J / g. Comparing this energy balance with that of paraffin alone, an encapsulation yield of 67.5% by weight is obtained, so that all the paraffin introduced is found to be microencapsulated.

The passage of the samples at different temperature ramps (appended FIG. 19) makes it possible to highlight the second thermal phenomenon due to the incorporation into the final structure of salt / PVA microspheres bridged with MDI. A melting endotherm is observed between -10 and 10 ^° C., with an average enthalpy of 20 J / g. The comparison of the thermograms of the microcapsules with those of the hexadecane (appended FIG. 20) also makes it possible to demonstrate the increase in the thermal window of the microencapsulated paraffin fusion by a factor of 1.5. Given the absence of a melting peak relative to the salt hydrate, it can be assumed that the presence of these microspheres in - -

the membrane significantly modifies the distribution of heat exchanges within the particles. The replacement of hexadecane by eicosane does not modify the appearance of the phenomenon, only the phenomena related to the phase change of the paraffins are modified on the thermogram (appended FIG. 21). Thermogravimetric analysis of the microcapsules, at 10 ° C./min and under nitrogen (FIG. 22 appended) shows a loss of mass of 73.5% attributable to the presence of paraffin and also to the water contained in the particles, since its degradation begins before that of paraffin. Thus, it is possible to estimate at approximately 6% by weight the residual water present in the salt / PVA / MDI network. The salt / PVA / MDI complex forms a structure capable of storing energy by latent heat.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to compositions B and C used in the process for synthesizing multinucleate microcapsules. Composition B comprises two phases: a liquid phase containing an inorganic compound, for example a salt hydrate or phosphate salts and water, in a proportion of 5: 1 and a continuous phase containing paraffin, and a mixture surfactants at 5% by volume; it is characterized in that the ratio by volume aqueous phase - continuous phase is from 1 to 4. The composition C comprising two phases: an aqueous phase containing an aqueous solution of PVA and a continuous phase containing a paraffin, is characterized by a mass concentration PVA less than 10%.

Composition D comprising: a dispersion of microcapsules containing salt in paraffin, an aqueous solution containing an aminoplast prepolymer and a surfactant such as Tween® 20, is characterized in that the aminoplast prepolymer is about 30% by weight, the surfactant is about 5% by weight and the pH is about 3.

Claims

1. Mono or multinuclear microcapsules with aminoplast membrane comprising at least two organic and / or inorganic compounds.

2. Microcapsules according to claim 1 characterized in that at least one of the organic and / or inorganic compounds is phase-change.

3. Mononucleic microcapsules according to any one of claims 1 and 2 characterized in that they comprise a mixture of at least two paraffins.

4. Microcapsules according to claim 3, characterized in that the paraffins are even alkanes.

5. Microcapsules according to claim 4, characterized in that the alkanes are selected from the group: C16, C18, C20.

6. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 3 to 5 characterized in that said mixture is capable of changing phase in a temperature range from 19 to 30 ^° C.

7. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that they also comprise a soluble filler in any proportion in said mixture.

8. Microcapsules according to claim 7, characterized in that the filler is tetraethyl ortho-silicate.

9. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 3 to 8 characterized in that the mass fraction of paraffins introduced is between 25 and 75%.

10. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 3 to 9 characterized in that the thickness of the membrane is between 120 and 700 nanometers.

11. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 3 to 10 characterized by an average diameter of the order of 5 microns.

12. Process for synthesizing microcapsules according to any one of claims 3 to 11, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a) introducing into a mixer a base composition A comprising: a mixture of at least two paraffins,

an aminoplast prepolymer,

a surfactant in an aqueous solution; b) operating the mixer with a stirring speed between 9000 and 14000 rpm, at a temperature of about 40 ^° C. and a pH of about 4 for 10 to 20 minutes, so as to emulsify and homogenize said composition until a stable emulsion is obtained; c) increasing the temperature of the emulsion to about 55 ° C and adjusting the mixer speed to about 600 rpm for about 4 hours to obtain microcapsules.

13. The method of claim 12 characterized in that it comprises steps of filtering, washing and drying microcapsules obtained in step c.

14. Basic composition A, implemented in the process for synthesizing microcapsules according to any one of claims 12 and 13, characterized in that it comprises:

an intimate mixture of at least two paraffins, an aminoplast prepolymer,

a surfactant,

15. The composition of claim 14 characterized in that the surfactant is a mixture (50/50 by volume) of Tween® 20 and Brij®35, 4% by weight relative to the aqueous phase.

16. Composition according to any one of claims 14 and 15, characterized in that the aminoplast prepolymer comprises a formaldehyde / melamine molar ratio greater than 4.

17. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 1 and 2 characterized in that they comprise at least one organic compound surrounded by microspheres comprising at least one inorganic compound, said microspheres being bonded together by the aminoplast resin.

18. Microcapsules according to claim 17, characterized in that said organic compound is a paraffin.

19. Microcapsules according to claim 18, characterized in that said paraffin is hexadecane.

20. Microcapsules according to claim 19, characterized in that said paraffin is eicosane.

21. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that said inorganic compound is a salt hydrate.

22. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that said inorganic compound is a phosphate salt.

23. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 17 to 22, characterized in that said microspheres have a PVA / MDI membrane.

24. Microcapsules according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that their diameter is between 1 and 10 microns.

25. Process for synthesizing microcapsules according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that it comprises:

a step of microencapsulation of the inorganic compound in a paraffinic medium; and

a microcapsule formation and aminoplast membrane synthesis step.

26. Process according to claim 25, characterized in that the step of microencapsulation of the inorganic compound in a paraffinic medium comprises the following operations: i) introducing into a first mixer a composition B comprising two phases, an aqueous phase containing a inorganic compound and water and a continuous phase containing paraffin and a mixture of surfactants, the mixture of surfactants having a HLB between 5 and 7, ii) operate the first mixer at a speed of about 8500 rev / min for about 15 minutes at room temperature, so as to emulsify the composition B up to to obtain a stable emulsion E1, iii) introducing into a second mixer a composition C comprising two phases: an aqueous phase containing an aqueous solution of PVA and a continuous phase containing a paraffin; iv) operate the second mixer at room temperature at a speed of about 13,500 rpm so as to emulsify the composition C until a stable emulsion E2 is obtained; v) mix emulsions E1 and E2 to obtain a microgel, vi) add to the microgel a cross-linking agent (MDI) pre-dispersed in paraffin, with vigorous stirring, at 50 ° C., until microencapsulation of the inorganic compound.

27. The method of claim 26 characterized in that it comprises an additional operation after the operation vi) of maintaining in dispersion the microspheres containing salt by mechanical stirring.

28. Process according to claim 25, characterized in that the step of forming microcapsules and of the aminoplast membrane comprises the following operations: vii) introducing into a mixer a composition D comprising an aqueous phase containing an aqueous solution of aminoplast prepolymer and a surfactant and a continuous phase comprising the microspheres of inorganic compound in dispersion; viii) operate the mixer at room temperature at a speed of about 10,500 rpm for about 15 minutes until a stable emulsion E3 is obtained, ix) increase the temperature of the emulsion E3 to about 55 ° C and adjust the speed of the mixer at about 400 rpm for about 4 hours to obtain microcapsules.

29. The method of claim 28 characterized in that it comprises steps of filtering, washing and drying of the microcapsules obtained in step ix.

30. Composition B used in the process for synthesizing microcapsules according to any one of Claims 26 to 29, characterized in that it comprises two phases: a liquid phase containing an inorganic compound and water, in a proportion of 5: 1 and a continuous phase containing paraffin, and a mixture of surfactants at 5% by volume and in that the volume ratio aqueous phase - continuous phase is 1 to 4.

31. Composition C used in the process for synthesizing microcapsules according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that it comprises two phases: an aqueous phase containing an aqueous solution of PVA and a continuous phase containing a paraffin and in that its mass concentration of PVA is less than 10%.

32. Composition D implemented in the process for synthesizing microcapsules according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that it comprises a dispersion of microcapsules containing salt in paraffin, an aqueous solution containing an aminoplast prepolymer and a surfactant, in that the aminoplast prepolymer is about 30% by weight, in that the surfactant is about 5% by weight and the pH is about 3.